DeMint Introduces Senate Repeal of Obamacare
South Carolina Republican and conservative firebrand Sen. Jim DeMint introduced legislation to repeal Obamacare on Wednesday, the first official step in bringing the House-passed repeal bill fight into the staid upper chamber. But a slew of mostly moderate senators declined to support DeMint’s legislation, raising questions on the unity of the Republican caucus. Backing him are 34 Republicans including Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Republican Whip Sen. John Kyl of Arizona. Conspicuously absent from the list of cosponsors are Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Michael Enzi of Wyoming, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

GOP Takes on EPA
On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Government Oversight and Investigations met for the first time this year to discuss President Obama’s executive order to review of all federal regulation. Among the Republican majority on the subcommittee, there was clear consensus: Regulatory uncertainty has been harmful for the economy and new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) need thorough scrutiny.

A Checklist for Congress
The Heritage Foundation welcomes the choice made by our country’s conservative majority. The voters decided to send to Congress, men and women pledged to act upon the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Heritage has compiled this checklist of five overriding actions, representing the bare minimum required for Washington to fulfill its electoral mandate, meet its constitutional responsibilities and get America started on the right track.

Obama’s Plan Leads to even higher taxes
President Obama's agenda spelled out in his well-received State of the Union address would boost spending an additional $20 billion and lead to higher taxes, according to a line-by-line analysis from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

Cantor on Economic Freedom
Join Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Heritage experts to hear what those cuts may mean for economic freedom, how greater economic freedom can improve the State of the Union, and what policy initiatives can help the U.S. regain the level of economic freedom that made it the most prosperous nation in the world.

Medicare’s actuary prefers Ryan Plan to Obama
Van Hollen pressed Foster on whether Ryan’s plan would work, prompting Foster to point out that one of the biggest problems in health care now is that most new technology that is developed increases costs rather than decreasing it. “If there’s a way to turn around the mindset for the people who do the research and development … to get them to focus more on cost-reducing tech and less on cost increasing technology, if you can do that then one of biggest components of [increasing costs] turns to your side,” Foster said. “If you can put that pressure on the research and development community, you might have fighting chance of changing the nature of new medical technology in a way that makes lower cost levels possible.”

Bachmann flays Obama in tea-party response
The following are remarks by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who gave the first-ever tea-party response to President Obama's State of the Union speech, as prepared for delivery.

Gun Control Wouldn't Have Stopped Loughner
A very public shooting spree, with victims including a congresswoman, a judge, and a little girl, committed by a known lunatic, using equipment that had previously been banned: Jared Loughner’s crime seems an unparalleled opportunity for gun control advocates to gin up support for new legislation to restrict the weapons legally available to Americans and to restrict which Americans have access to those weapons.

Thin Blue Line: 11 Murders in 24 Hours Nationwide
Authorities are worried a recent wave of police officer shootings may not be a coincidence. In just 24 hours, at least 11 cops were shot around the country.

More Money Doesn’t Make Better Schools
Reason.tv sat down with Derrell Bradford, the founder and CEO of Excellent Education for Everyone (E3), which advocates for more school choice in New Jersey. This interview is part of National School Choice Week, a non-partisan initiative to raise awareness of how competition and choice can transform K-12 education.

CAIR Joins NAACP To Target Tea Party Movement
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a press release supporting an NAACP resolution asking the Tea Party movement to “condemn racism within its ranks.”

Muslim cleric arrested by US border agents
The Los Angeles Times reports a Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia has been arrested near San Diego after allegedly sneaking across the border from Mexico and hiding in the trunk of a BMW. Said Jaziri is a material witness in a case against two men charged with immigrant smuggling earlier this month.

China's Dead Babies
Just like the Germans, China practiced varying methods of abortion and prevention to find the most efficient way to destroy these unwanted babies. And they were successful. It has been estimated that 1.7 million female babies "went missing" every year, through abortion and/or murder by parents who needed a boy to take care of them in their old age.

Being a Person
Advocates for embryo and fetal destruction should therefore stop playing semantic games and admit that they believe it is acceptable to kill some human beings because human beings do not have, per se, intrinsic worth.

Vigil for Life Mass
5 Cardinals, 39 Bishops, 10,000 faithful pack basilica for Vigil for Life Mass. Since early afternoon Sunday the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception had begun to fill for the 6:30 pm. National Prayer Vigil for Life Mass in anticipation of the March for Life. By 6 pm, every nook and cranny of the giant basilica was packed with people. The booming pipe organ and majestic choir signaled the commencement of the Mass, which began with a massive procession of hundreds of seminarians, deacons and priests followed by 39 bishops and five cardinals.

A Youthful March for Life
Pro-life people are getting younger. It makes sense, doesn't it, that eventually the pro-life people who are having children will outnumber the pro-choice people who are aborting their children. It has been estimated that 400,000-500,000 people, mostly youth, peacefully and prayerfully marched in our nation's capital on Monday, January 24th, to profess their belief in the value and dignity of every human person.

‘Bella’ Star Announces Plans to Build Largest U.S. Crisis Pregnancy Center
Verástegui has stated that his organization, Mantle of Guadalupe’s mission is to promote the dignity of the human person throughout the world and bring relief to those suffering extreme poverty. The group’s projects include building homes, delivering food and medicine, and providing lifesaving assistance to impoverished pregnant women. “I will not use my talents except to elevate my Christian, pro-life and Hispanic values,” Verástegui said.

Ronald Reagan and the Right to Life
"I know what I’m about to say is controversial,” Reagan begins. “But I have to say it. This nation cannot continue turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the taking of some 4,000 unborn children’s lives every day. One every 21 seconds. We cannot pretend that America is preserving her first and highest ideals, the belief that each life is sacred, when we’ve permitted the deaths of fifteen million helpless innocents". How would President Reagan react to the number of over 50 million aborted babies, which doesn't even account for all of the chemical abortions that are now legal with a prescription drug?

Stop the Conspiracy of Silence
There are no adequate words for the horrific evil in Philadelphia by an abortionist who killed thousands of children and made millions of dollars. This is about an abortion clinic that was not inspected for 30 years while regulators looked the other way. This is about politicians who didn’t want to rock the boat because of the money they were given for their campaigns. This is about doctors who refused to report one of their own. This is about the betrayal of poor, scared women, mostly young, mostly black or immigrant. At least two of them are dead, many had their wombs and bowels perforated and many were infected with venereal disease with unsterilized instruments. This is about hundreds of infanticides in which live, viable, babies in the third trimester of pregnancy were delivered – and then murdered by snipping their spinal cords with scissors. One of them was so developed that the doctor joked, before snipping, “he could walk me to the bus stop”.

President Celebrates Abortion of over 50 Million Unborn Americans
The President said: “On this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.” There was not one expression of abortion as a national tragedy, even as a report recently indicated that almost 60 percent of all pregnancies among African American women in New York City end in abortion. There was not one mention of the Philadelphia abortionist who committed unspeakable crimes. How can a President of the United States fail to address these unspeakable tragedies?

The Legacy of Life
You often hear,"How do you know where you are going, if you don't know where you've been?" History is very important. When studying the Early Church Fathers, we discover many things. The Church consistently taught that life begins at conception and should continue till natural death. In such matters, Christianity contradicted pagan mores on almost every point. What were virtuous acts to the Romans and Greeks — contraception, abortion, infanticide, suicide, euthanasia — were abominations to the Christians.

MTV "Skins" Accused of Child Porn
Six major advertizers have pulled their ads from the MTV show “Skins,” after MTV executives became concerned last week that the show, a sexually explicit and drug-laden depiction of the lives of its teenage characters, may violate federal child pornography statutes.

Conception and Fetal Development
The following video is a shortened version of the masterpiece video called "Genesis" by Ramos David. It magnificently depicts fetal development. The Music is William Byrd: Optimam Partem Elegit (She has Chosen the Best Part), a text most fitting since we pray all mothers will choose life. The full length video is found in higher definition on YouTube by searching under "Genesis Ramos David".

Kansas Day, Topeka KS, January 28 and 29

Chastity Events for Youth, Men and Women, Olathe, KS January 28 and 29
Youth for Truth, Men of Valor and Women of Virtue

Kucinich sues over sandwich
Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed a lawsuit against a House of Representatives cafeteria over dental injuries he says he sustained three years ago when he ate a sandwich containing olives that were not pitted.

Gospel - Mk 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples,?“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed,?and not to be placed on a lampstand For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; ?from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

February 6 marks the hundredth anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birthday and the occasion has already prompted renewed interest in his life, legacy, and presidency. President Barack Obama has made it known he is reading Lou Cannon’s President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime. Many commentators have speculated that Obama is studying Reagan to learn how to better connect with the American people, but there is a more important reason to admire Reagan. His most important legacy is his insistence that America’s strength lies in its spiritual vitality.

In The Wall Street Journal last week, David Davis pointedly declared that it was “Reagan's simplicity of language and clarity of views that made his insights and policies so powerful.” Reagan believed strongly in three things: God, the American people, and the danger of centralized power. Although simple, these principles were powerful because they point to a higher purpose.

At the age of 11, Reagan read That Printer of Udell’s, a book about a boy who, thanks to Christian charity and love, overcomes poverty and an alcoholic father to make something of his life. Reagan credited the book for pushing him towards his evangelical faith and said the account left with him “an abiding belief in the triumph of good over evil.”

During the Cold War, he elevated those spiritual tones to the forefront of the assault on totalitarianism, issuing scathing indictments against godless communism’s hollow core. While détente deemphasized the spiritual dimension of the Cold War, Reagan made the moral argument paramount. He told political prisoners and dissidents they weren’t forgotten, saying, “We, your brothers in God, have made your cause our cause, and we vow never to relent until you have regained the freedom that is your birthright as a child of God.” His words and deeds would earn him the title “The Great Liberator.”

At home, he believed Washington was impotent to solve problems, but the people were strong—with one caveat, that people were strong in God. Religion is vibrant when the rule of law under God is protected and only then can freedom prosper. He called for spiritual revival and overruled pragmatic aides who implored him to talk less about the sacred life of the unborn. Reagan knew the ultimate strength of the nation was not in military might, material goods, or Washington, but in devotion to the Lord.

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson, his name resurfaced in the news, as commentators cited him as a model for public discourse. Former President George W. Bush aptly declared that Reagan was “never known to slight or embarrass others.” The trait is a witness to the character of a Christian.

Recently, some commentators have attempted to cast doubt on the man and undercut his achievements by questioning his mental faculty while in office. This is not new: Reagan was called an “amiable dunce,” a “mad man” and “medieval” by political opponents. These attempts hardly mattered to him, as he himself showed indifference toward debates over his legacy, disregarding aides who begged him to defend attacks on his record. The most spiritually significant of his actions, however, may have been his departure from public life. In a letter to the American people in November of 1994, he revealed his Alzheimer’s affliction. “When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future,” he wrote.

His biographer Edmund Morris called the letter “a masterly piece of writing” with “the simplicity of genius.” It was a letter he crafted alone at his desk in one draft. “I find it very difficult to think emotionally about Ronald Reagan, but there is one thing he did that catches me in the heart, and that is the courage with which he left his conscious life,” Morris stated.

“I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things,” Reagan said in his farewell address in 1989. It’s not the policies that point to Reagan’s greatness but his principles. His ideas are timeless because they evoke deeper truths about man, his relationship to the state, and most importantly, his Creator.